Last Updated: 03/12/2025
Videographic analysis and experimental evaluation of mosquito host-seeking responses to optimize a new odour-baited device for monitoring outdoor-biting malaria vectors
Objectives
The ultimate goal of this project is to understand how mosquitoes behave around decoy hosts, such as the mosquito landing boxes (MLBs), and use this information to adapt and evaluate this device as a means to effectively and affordably monitor outdoor-biting vectors and their vectorial capacity in communities with significant outdoor transmission.
The specific goals are:
- A comprehensive videographic analysis and quantitative assessment of responses of host-seeking mosquitoes around odour-baited devices (using MLB as a candidate), relative to responses around humans.
- An iteratively improved and tested odour-baited MLB that can be readily and practically used for field sampling of mosquitoes even in resource-poor settings.
- An assessment of the sampling efficacy of the improved MLBs, relative to HLC, for sampling malaria vectors, in controlled environments.
- An assessment of field efficacy, sensitivity, and specificity of the improved MLB, relative to existing outdoor surveillance methods, against natural populations of mosquitoes in low-density and high-density seasons.
Effective vector surveillance is essential for monitoring disease epidemiology, identifying suitable control measures, and quantifying the impacts of interventions. Regarding malaria, one major challenge is a lack of reliable means of accurately measuring prevailing transmission. This is particularly challenging where interventions like LLINs and indoor residual spraying (IRS) have effectively tackled indoor-biting vectors, but behaviourally resistant, outdoor-biting, and early-biting Anopheles remain a threat, often complicated by widespread psychological insecticide resistance. There is an urgent need of Effective vector surveillance is essential for monitoring disease epidemiology, identifying suitable control measures, and quantifying the impacts of interventions. Regarding malaria, one major challenge is a lack of reliable means of accurately measuring prevailing transmission. This is particularly challenging where interventions like LLINs and indoor residual spraying (IRS) have effectively tackled indoor-biting vectors, but behaviourally resistant, outdoor-biting, and early-biting Anopheles remain a threat, often complicated by widespread psychological insecticide resistance. There is an urgent need for effective outdoor vector surveillance tools, particularly in settings where a significant proportion of malaria transmission now occurs outdoors. The odour-baited mosquito landing box (MLB), a new tool initially developed to complement indoor interventions, attracts and kills large numbers of important disease-transmitting mosquitoes by mimicking human odours outdoors.
Jul 2014 — Apr 2017
$177,316
Related Resources
